His wife, Sis. Joy Haney, wrote the following on the CLC website:

“The Lord giveth & the Lord taketh away! Blessed be the name of the Lord!” Jesus & His angels came for Bishop Haney this morning! He went very peacefully!!! In God’s army a 5 star General has gone home! God never makes a mistake! He heard our prayers! “Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done!” God’s will has been done! The doctor just came in & said to me. “My mother use to tell me, “When you live a good life, you will have a peaceful passing!’ He said, “This is the first peaceful passing I’ve seen!” We love all of you & thank you for your prayers!!! Viewing & funeral arrangements are forthcoming!

Viewing:
Wednesday, November 16th | 7PM – 9PM
9025 West Lane

Funeral:
Thursday, November 17th | 11AM
4303 Christian Life Way

All flowers can be sent to:
Christian Life Center
9025 West Lane | Stockton, CA 95210

History

Source: CLCministry.com

On July 18, 1937, Kenneth was born to the parents of Rev. Clyde and Olive Haney in Stockton, California. He was destined to do great things for God! At the young age of 7, he received the gift of the Holy Ghost and was baptized in Jesus’ name.  At age 12 he received the call to preach at a service conducted by Ruby Keyes at the Bend, Oregon campmeeting where his father was the Bible Teacher for the day services.  He grew up on a farm and preached his first sermons to the cows in the field while they mooed their amens and switched their tails in agreement.  At age 15 he preached his first message in a church, and at age 17 he received his ministerial license with the United Pentecostal Church International.  He was ordained June 19, 1959. In the earlier years of his ministry, he served as Associate Pastor with his father for 11 years at the First Pentecostal Church in Stockton, as well as traveled for WABC, recruiting students in the summer, and preaching revivals and singing.

In 1960 he fell in love with the beautiful, vivacious, and talented Joy McDonald. They were married October 14, 1961 and to this union were born 5 children: Sherrie, Nathaniel, Stephenie, Elizabeth, and Angela. All 5 children are serving the Lord and are involved in ministry. They are the proud grandparents of 10 beautiful grandchildren.

As a young boy, Kenneth was always respectful of the ministry and was thrilled to be in their presence. He was acquainted with many of the greats of Pentecost and has many interesting stories to share about them. He has always been a humble, unassuming man, who loves people, and has always been a dreamer!  As a young man, he was involved in organizational work.  In 1963 at the age of 25 he was elected Western District Youth President and served in this office for 7 years. In 1963 and also 1964 he received 1st place award for the Western District as being 1st in the nation for Sheaves for Christ giving. Under his leadership the Western District was the first district to have Bible Quizzing and then it became national.

In 1971, Kenneth Haney became the pastor of the First Pentecostal Church in Stockton. View more pictures of Kenneth Haney.

In 1969 he was elected UPCI National Youth President.  While serving in this capacity he started several programs.  They were: The Youth Redemption Center (a place for troubled youth with drug problems), Pentecostal Student Fellowship International- (Campus Ministry), IYC, and the magazine called HOMELIFE for the young married. He was elected for 2 terms in this office, but upon the untimely death of his father, and at the request of the church board and much prayer and deliberation, he resigned and returned to Stockton where he was elected Pastor, and at the same time, he also became President of Western Apostolic Bible College, which during his time of service there, the name of the church was changed to Christian Life Center and the college to Christian Life College.  In his younger days he attended WABC for 3 years, and graduated, then became one of the instructors. In 2003 Christian Life College bestowed upon him an honorary Doctorate degree. So officially he is Dr. Haney!

The late Rev. Paul Gregory said about Kenneth, ”He was a whirlwind for Jesus.” During his early years of assisting his father, he organized and set up an elementary school that is still operating successfully. After returning to Stockton, he organized city wide crusades held in the Civic Auditorium, renting many billboards in the city to advertise. He organized continual prayer and fasting chains so that the church began to grow and flourish with revival.  Also during this time, his dream was to own a radio station that would air good gospel music and gospel programming. With much help and hard work, a 10 watt KCJH aired its first program in1975.   The call letters have changed to KYCC and the wattage has increased to 50,000 watts, and has 18 stations and translator stations and is the largest station in the city. KYCC now reaches into New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Montano, El Paso, Texas, and all of Northern California, and on internet around the world. He also served as the prayer coordinator for the city wide prayer breakfasts which originated with him.  He started the Good Samaritan Center which was instrumental to help and feed the poor.  Under his pastorate he started 14 daughter works.  He also led his congregation in many building programs. He was always building something!! Some of those were a new College campus, an Administration center, Family Life Center, Christian school, and new church buildings.

He is known for his God-given organizational skills and has served in organizational work for about 25 years: 7 years as Western District Youth Pres., 1 year as Western District Sunday School Director, 2 and a half years as UPCI National Youth President, 6 years as Asst. Gen. Supt, of the western zone, and 8 years as UPCI General Supt.

While serving as General Supt., he served with excellence and led the United Pentecostal Church International into greater revival and challenged the Fellowship to reach greater heights than ever before.  The following is quoted and taken from Bro. Randy Keys article in the recent Pentecostal Herald, ”Kenneth Haney is truly one of the greatest leaders the UPCI has ever had. His vision and dreams caused people to be set aflame with passion and fire for the cause of Jesus Christ!  There are numerous duties of the General Superintendent, but he went up and beyond these normal duties.  Following are the extra Accomplishments and Achievements during the eight year tenure of General Superintendent Kenneth F. Haney from January 1, 2002 through January 1, 2010:” We will not list all of them here today, but here are just a few:

1. He created Global Impact – A Program for Reaching the World and Doubling our Ministers, Churches, and Congregations in ten years
2. Instituted a program for acknowledgement of the faithfulness of our ministers by honoring them for years of service: 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, and 50 years with a personalized letter from the General Superintendent and a certificate of honor.
3. Began a full service Stewardship Department resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars being committed to various areas within the UPCI, and even millions in the future.
4. Instituted the Pentecostal Music Association (PMA) to honor the great musicians and singers in the organization.
5. Completely restructured the PENTECOSTAL HERALD with a new look and new format.
6. Developed the UPCI Flag for the funerals of all licensed ministers.  This included a separate flag to each district office for the draping of a minister’s casket and a special ceremony for presenting a flag, a personalized letter from the general superintendent, and a certificate of honor to the minister’s family.
7. To give honor and dignity to those who serve the UPCI he created a pictorial display of all Executive Board members and all General Board members which are beautifully displayed on the wall at WEC in the third floor lobby area.
8. He began the program, named: Order of the Faith, which is the Hall of Fame of the UPCI.
9. Established monthly Division Heads meetings for better communication and staying on target.
10. Published three books to instill the Vision and Mission of the Organization. They are (1). ONE VISION, One God, One World, One Church   (2). IRRESISTIBLE WAVE   (3). TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
11. Restructured General Conference including changing the format of the Wednesday evening service, beginning an outreach for souls over the weekend, and holding a city wide Holy Ghost rally on Sunday evening to reach the lost. Thousands have received the Holy Ghost and been baptized in these Crusades.
12. Developed the Division of Publications to consolidate five departments under the direction of one division. They are the following:  PPH, Word Aflame, Marketing, Pentecostal Herald, and Editorial.
13. Recorded a monthly Web cast to communicate with all ministers and to inform those in the grassroots on what was happening at the World Evangelism Center
14. Established Men’s Ministry as a Division
15. Developed TALK POINTS - a program for integrating and including younger ministers into movement beginning with the PASSING THE MANTLE service.
16. Organized the annual 30 days of Prayer and Fasting beginning with the first of the year.
17. Instituted 18 commissions which served the first four years of his administration or until their work was completed.
    His 58 years of ministry have been all about helping people and doing the will of God.  Pleasing God, serving others, and his family are the most important things to him. He has traveled around the world leaving his anointed influence on all lives that have been touched by his ministry.  He has raised the bar wherever he went.  He truly is as Bro. Francis, General Superintendent of Great Britain recently said in his remarks about him ”Bro. Haney is truly a modern day Apostle!” He is also characterized as being a visionary and great organizer. Bro. Bruce Howell, UPCI Foreign Missions Director and others have said, ”Kenneth Haney is the greatest visionary leader I have ever known.” Not only is he a visionary, but he is a man of prayer! And his faithfulness in all things is his trademark.

Source: CLCministry.com

To sum up his life, you can’t talk about Kenneth Haney without including Joy Haney. Together for almost 50 years they have been an unstoppable team, fighting hell, marching forward to victory, slaying the enemy and conquering each step of the way! Praying, fasting, reaching, preaching, loving, organizing, giving until there is no more to give, living a life that speaks that they belong to the One whom they serve: Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, and He alone!

Source: http://oof.upci.org/inductees/khaney.asp

This recent discussion appears to have started when Jakes tweeted to his followers Friday the following message: “God brings us together so that He can dwell in the midst of our unity, the church must lift up a standard of unity.”

Another Twitter user with the handle “Defend Orthodoxy” then tweeted: “Bishop Jakes: ‘…the church must lift up a standard of unity.’ // One reason why Modalism is a destructive heresy… misleading people.”

The Texas minister also began fielding accusations from Ken Silva, pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church in Claremont, N.H. Silva is critical of teachings by various influential members in the Christian community, such as Jakes, Rob Bell and Rick Warren, to name a few.

Silva, an ordained Southern Baptist Conference minister, also questioned Jakes by tweeting to The Potter’s House pastor Friday: “Bishop Jakes Which God are you talking about? The Triune God of the Bible, or the ficticious god of modalism? Which one do you believe in?”

It was then that a minor debate ensued between Jakes and Silva regarding his beliefs about the Godhead, with Jakes tweeting: “Ken I believe in Jesus Christ the only begotten of the Father. I believe in the Holy Spirit sent to the world by the Father!”

Perhaps not wanting to get into a lengthy debate about a position he has addressed before, Jakes shut down the conversation and reportedly blocked Silva on Twitter, writing: “What I don’t believe in is dividing the body of Christ or allowing obnoxious communications in my space so….”

While all of the conversations are not recorded here, my question is “Is T.D. Jakes embarassed of what he believes? Why does he not just say that, “no I don’t believe in the Trinity; it’s a man-made doctrine that is not found in the Bible”? One of the dangers in always associating with Trinitarian pastors, is that there seems to be a tendency on many to dilute their own beliefs to accomodate others.

Police Search For Missing Evangelist David Dickinson In Marshall County, TN (Photo Courtesy of c-dh.net)

Update:

Mr. David O. Dickinson, age 49 of Elkton, passed away September 26, 2011 in Lewisburg, TN. Services will be Tuesday October 18, 2011 11:00 a.m. at Latham Funeral Home in Elkton, KY with Rev. Dale Reasons officiating. Burial was followed in the Edgewood Cemetery in Trenton, KY. Visitation was held after 4:00 p.m. Monday October 17, 2011 at Latham Funeral Home in Elkton, KY.
David was born in Clarksville, TN August 28, 1962 the son of Richard Jr. and Emily Oldham Dickinson. He was a graduate of Todd County Central High School and a full time Evangelist of the Apostolic Faith.
Survivors besides his parents include his wife Tammy George Dickinson of Elkton, KY one son Josiah Dickinson of the home and one daughter Jaela Dickinson of the home. One brother Paul Dickinson of Elkton, two sisters Dawn D. Sharp of Elkton, and Susan Dickinson of Trenton, KY
The family has a fund set up for donations at the Fort Campbell Credit Union, 2050 Lowes Drive, Clarksville, TN 37040 for David’s children Josiah and Jaela.

Apostolic News and its followers offer the Dickinson family our prayers.

Tuesday 10/11/2011 15:24 – Update:

Human remains were found in Rock Creek on the North side of Lewisburg. 
http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wztv_vid_9527.shtml

LEWISBURG, Tenn. – Police have been searching for an evangelist missing for more than 48 hours in Marshall County.

Evangelist David Dickinson, age 49, was last seen around 7:30 a.m. Monday, when his wife told investigators he walked out of a camper set up behind the New Life Tabernacle on Fox Lane in Lewisburg.

When he didn’t show up for a scheduled event at the church Monday evening, police were called in to help. Dickinson was in town with his wife and two children. He was visiting from Kentucky and was scheduled to speak all week long for a revival.

“When he left he just said ‘I love you’ and I told him I loved him. Those were our last words,” said his wife Tammy.

Search and rescue teams with K-9 units canvassed a somewhat wooded area near the church for several hours Monday night.

They were back on the scene Tuesday morning. Both the Lewisburg Police and Fire Departments were helping with the search.

On Tuesday, crews searched a one mile radius from the church. A helicopter was out earlier looking for any traces of the evangelist.

“He might just be injured and can’t make it out of …

Read More : newschannel5.com

Drive about an hour south of Amsterdam and you can see the ark. The big idea began with a dream in 1992.

“In the nighttime, I dreamed that a part of Holland was flooded. So the next day when I woke up, I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to build the ark of Noah,’” Johan Huibers told CBN News.

A Bigger Dream

Despite objections from his wife and others, Huibers first built one replica, one-tenth the size of Noah’s original ark.

More than 600,000 visitors came to see that one, but Huibers had a bigger dream.

Huibers built the ark the same dimensions as Noah did — 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

The replica is huge. Some say the ark was the largest wooden structure ever to roam the seas.

Read More.

The tunnel was built two millennia ago underneath one of Roman-era Jerusalem’s main streets, which today largely lies under an Arab neighborhood in the city’s eastern sector. After a four-year excavation, the tunnel is part of a growing network of subterranean passages under the politically combustible modern city.

The tunnel was intended to drain rainwater, but is also thought to have been used as a hiding place for the rebels during the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. That temple was razed, along with much of the city, by Roman legionnaires putting down the Jewish uprising in 70 A.D.

On Monday, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority unveiled a sword found in the tunnel late last month, measuring 24 inches (60 centimeters) in length and with its leather sheath intact. The sword likely belonged to a member of the Roman garrison around the time of the revolt, the archaeologists said.

“We found many things that we assume are linked to the rebels who hid out here, like oil lamps, cooking pots, objects that people used and took with them, perhaps, as a souvenir in the hope that they would be going back,” said Eli Shukron, the Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist in charge of the dig.

The archaeologists also found a bronze key from the same era, coins minted by rebels with the slogan “Freedom of Zion,” and a crude carved depiction of a menorah, a seven-branched Jewish candelabra that was one of the central features of the Temple.

The flight of the rebels to tunnels like the one currently being excavated was described by the historian Josephus Flavius, a Jewish rebel general who shifted his allegiance to Rome during the revolt and penned the most important history of the uprising.

As the city burned, he wrote about five years afterward, the rebels decided their “last hope” lay in the tunnels. They planned to wait until the legions had departed and then emerge and escape.

“But this proved to be an idle dream, for they were not destined to escape from either God or the Romans,” he wrote. The legionnaires tore up the paving stones above the drainage channels and exposed their hiding place.

“There too were found the bodies of more than two thousand, some slain by their own hands, some by another’s; but most of them died by starvation,” Josephus wrote. The victors proceeded to loot, he wrote, “for many precious objects were found in these passages.”

The new tunnel, lit by fluorescent bulbs and smelling of damp earth, has been cleared for much of its length but has not yet been opened to the public. Earlier this month, a team from The Associated Press walked through the tunnel from the biblical Pool of Siloam, one of the city’s original water sources, continuing for 600 yards (meters) under the Palestinian neighborhood named for the pool — Silwan — before climbing out onto a sunlit Roman-era street inside Jerusalem’s Old City.

The tunnel is part of the expanding City of David excavation in Silwan, which sits above the oldest section of Jerusalem. The dig is named for the biblical monarch thought to have ruled from the site. It is funded by a group affiliated with the Jewish settlement movement and has drawn criticism from Palestinian residents who have charged that the work is disruptive and politically motivated.

Israel and the Palestinians have conflicting claims over Jerusalem that have scuttled peace efforts for decades. Both sides claim the Old City, which includes sites holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews.

The excavation of the tunnel began in 2007. Last month, a worker found a tiny golden bell that seemed to have been an ornament on the clothing of a rich man, or possibly a Temple priest, and which could still ring 2,000 years later.

Read More

“Hermano, hermana, en su vida El no va dejar que se burlen de usted,” he says in Spanish and then transitions into English. “Brother, sister, in your life He won’t let anyone put you to shame.”

An audience of about 40 people, mostly Latino, listens to him attentively as he punctuates every sentence with a wide smile.

In his second term in the Arizona state legislature, the 29-year-old immigrant from El Salvador is the only elected Latino Republican in the Arizona House, and politicos on both sides of the aisle view him as a rising Republican star. Montenegro, who is running for re-election in 2012, is the product of a national effort by Republicans to recruit and train more Hispanic candidates for office – including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez – because they say Latino voters are shifting to the right.

Conservative Latinos praise him for immigrating legally, “the right way,” as others called him a “vendido,” or sell-out, for supporting legislation like SB 1070, which makes it a state crime for unauthorized immigrants to be in Arizona. (Federal courts have stayed key parts of the law, pending a final decision on its constitutionality.)

Montenegro said he never mixes politics with his role in the church and vice-versa. But his family’s church, the name of which he asked not to be mentioned in this article, has been an integral part of his life.

He grew up looking up to his father, a Pentecostal pastor, speaking Spanish, and watching immigrant families like his struggle to make ends meet.

“That’s where my values come from,” he says. “It’s who I am.”

This is precisely why he thinks he doesn’t need to try hard to understand the mindset of Latinos.

In an interview at a local coffee shop, Montenegro says he gives voice to conservative Latinos with strong family values and prudent economic views who are tired of the hypocrisy of politicians from both parties. He says he is on a mission to fight stereotypes held by many, including some fellow Republicans.

“(Latinos) would rather be in the sun on top of a roof in Arizona, 120 degrees, working hard, than showing up to the welfare office,” he said.

Montenegro, a brown-skinned man with short dark hair, has the demeanor of a meticulous businessman: calm, soft-spoken and extremely measured when talking to reporters. He says he is satisfied with his current political career and doesn’t have his eye on a specific political post. Where his career goes “is going to be up to the voters and up to God,” he said.

“My calling is to serve. I’m a minister and I’m called to serve in that,” he said. “But I’m also…I believe with all my heart, that I’ve been called to serve the conservative, the cause of freedom.”

By “freedom,” he means less big government. And by “being free,” he means taking responsibility and working hard.

“People love the fact that when I tell them, ‘I really stand against government oppression and big government,’ they believe me. Because I was born in El Salvador, my parents have seen what a big oppressive government would do to you,” he said.

Montenegro’s family arrived in Los Angeles when he was four years old. He is uncomfortable discussing his immigration history, which has long drawn the curiosity of many Phoenix Latinos. El Salvador was in the middle of a civil war when Montenegro and his family immigrated. His family did not seek political asylum or a church sponsorship, he said. Instead, he said, his father applied for legal residency through a family member who already lived in the United States.

At the time the family immigrated to the United States, Montenegro’s father was a pastor in the Iglesia Apostólica de El Salvador, a growing denomination of Pentecostals in Latin America.

Read more.

U.S. Army Specialist 4 Patrick Lay II, 21, of Bradenton, was among five American servicemen killed by an improvised explosive device on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. (Courtesy photo)

BRADENTON — Spc. 4 Patrick L. Lay II, one of Bradenton’s native sons, was killed Thursday while on combat operations in Afghanistan.

He was a decorated soldier and a proven leader who was viewed by all as “the All-American Boy.”

Lay, who was only 21, died from injuries he sustained in an IED strike, according to his mother Stefenie Hernandez, also of Bradenton. She was told little else about the circumstances of her son’s death.

“My son gave his life for his country so we can live free and continue to have what we have,” Hernandez said. “He was fun-loving. He liked to joke. He was a very, very sweet child.”

Family and friends flocked to her home Friday.

The dining room table was covered with photos of Patrick in uniform. Nearby was the camouflage purse Lay sent to his mom before he deployed, bearing his division patch, unit crest and a name tag from his ACUs.

Family and friends shared hugs, tears and memories of Patrick, all the while trying to steel his mother’s resolve for the arduous journey she now faces.

Hernandez is traveling today to Dover, Del., to watch as six soldiers carry her son down the tail ramp of an Air Force jet into the military’s busiest morgue.

Spc. 4 Lay was an infantryman assigned to the Army’s elite 10th Mountain Division, located in Ft. Drum, N.Y. He was scheduled to possibly rotate home in a few months.

He was engaged to marry his high school sweetheart Joann Steiff, also 21, in August next year.

Patrick enjoyed fishing for bass with his grandfather and hunting wild hogs, his mother said.

“He was the very definition of a momma’s boy,” she said. “He was very protective of me.”

Joann says she was 15 when she knew Patrick Lay was the man she wanted to marry.

“Before he got deployed, he loved the Army,” she said. But her fiancé did not like Afghanistan.

“He hated it,” she said. “He wanted to come home.”

Everyone who knew Patrick remarked about the incredible loss to the community because of the young man’s stellar potential. Many say he was the real “All American Boy.”

Patrick gave up a full-ride football scholarship to join the Army.

“The first thing that came to mind was it really sucks to lose such a good person who could have benefited society here in this state,” said Adam Butler, Lay’s former offensive line coach at Braden River High School. “We lost a really good person who could have really made a difference here when he got back.”

Justin Mayhugh was a friend and high school football teammate.

“Patrick was the type of guy to give out a helping hand to those in need — an all-around all-American kid,” Mayhugh said. “Our country was privileged to have him in the Army. Me knowing Patrick like I did, I know he gave it his all.”

Survivors include two brothers and two sisters, including Nikki Lay, who’s just 15 months older.

“I lost one of the closest people to me,” Nikki said. “He gave me a bouquet of pink roses for my high school graduation. My grandma gave me a bouquet of pink roses when I graduated college, because Patrick was deployed. It made me feel like he was still here.”

Patrick Lay Sr. said his son “loved life and lived it to the fullest.”

“He was a natural born leader. People followed him,” Patrick’s father said. “He left a 9-year-old half-brother who is devastated, who looked upon him as an idol.”

The elder Lay said his fondest memory of his son was his smile, which blossomed whenever his fiancé was around.

“Joann — she made him smile,” Lay said. “He really loved her, and he really loved his mother.”

Joann’s friends are gathering around her for support, said Lindsay Pence, 21, a former classmate at Braden River High.

“It’s gonna be tough, but we’ll be here for her,” she said.

Pence remembers Patrick best for his sense of humor.

“He would always get me in trouble,” she recalled. “He was always the class clown. In ag, he’d mess around with the cows or the pigs or the water hose. His sense of humor was ridiculous.”

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/12/3834433/bradenton-fla-soldier-killed-in.html#ixzz1V1FpSnnZ

Read more about the genetic links between Jews and Africans.

HIERAPOLIS, TURKEY – July 27, 2011.

Italian professor Francesco D’Andria said archeologists found the tomb of the biblical figure — one of the 12 original disciples of Jesus — while working on the ruins of a newly-unearthed church, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported Wednesday.

“We have been looking for Saint Philip’s tomb for years,” d’Andria told the agency. “We finally found it in the ruins of a church which we excavated a month ago.”

The structure of the tomb and the writings on the wall proved it belonged to St. Philip, he added.

The professor said the archaeologists worked for years to find the tomb and he expected it to become an important Christian pilgrimage destination.

St. Philip, recognized as one of Christianity’s martyrs, is thought to have died in Hierapolis, in the southwest province of Denizli, in around 80AD. It is believed he was crucified upside down or beheaded.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/27/tomb-st-philip-apostle-discovered-in-turkey/#ixzz1TNIsgpi2

The biblical ruin lies inside a Palestinian city in the West Bank, where modern researchers are writing the latest chapter in a 100-year-old excavation that has been interrupted by two world wars and numerous rounds of Mideast upheaval.

Working on an urban lot that long served residents of Nablus as an unofficial dump for garbage and old car parts, Dutch and Palestinian archaeologists are learning more about the ancient city of Shekhem — and preparing to open the site to the public as an archaeological park next year.

The project, carried out under the auspices of the Palestinian Department of Antiquities, also aims to introduce the Palestinians of Nablus, who have been beset for much of the past decade by bloodshed and isolation, to the wealth of antiquities in the middle of their city.

“The local population has started very well to understand the value of the site, not only the historical value, but also the value for their own identity,” said Gerrit van der Kooij of Leiden University in the Netherlands, who co-directs the dig team.

“The local people have to feel responsible for the archaeological heritage in their neighborhood,” he said.

The digging season wrapped up this week at the site, known locally as Tel Balata.

The city of Shekhem, positioned in a pass between the mountains of Gerizim and Eibal and controlling the Askar Plains to the east, was an important regional center more than 3,500 years ago. As the existing remains show, it lay within fortifications of massive stones, was entered through monumental gates and centered on a temple with walls five yards (meters) thick.

The king of Shekhem, Labaya, is mentioned in the cuneiform tablets of the Pharaonic archive found at Tel al-Amarna in Egypt, which are dated to the 14th century B.C. The king had rebelled against Egyptian domination, and soldiers were dispatched north to subdue him. They failed.